20 Comments:

That was an awesome read. Why, though does someone only write about the shit that goes on at Deathstar when the "fixture faces" leave. The company has done the same to several people in recent years. Funny what makes the news and what doesn't. You can be sure if the same shit that went on at Nexstar happened at a local non-media company that Channel 50 would make it a lead story. In any case, too bad John D probably doesn't read this blog.

That News Alliance does pretty good work with the Red Cross and disaster relief. They may not be bringing massive amounts of news to us in innovative waves, but the charity work at least is done very well.

The News Alliance controls the flow of what you see and hear, and when and if, you see and hear it. There is no benefit whatsoever to the citizens of NE PA, none. As of right now, the two major independent voices here are WNEP and The Times-Leader. If the Lynetts were in bed with WNEP and/or The T-L, we'd be in serious, serious trouble. At least they're allied with the market mutts. Hey, there's a hell of a deal - how many markets have two market dogs?

"The News Alliance controls the flow of what you see and hear, and when and if, you see and hear it."

Oops. Time to adjust your tinfoil beanie. You've been hanging out on the grassy knoll with the other conspiracy theorists too long.

There's no agenda setting going on, no censorship, no thought control. The idea behind the News Alliance was and is simple, straightforward and guileless: let's stop thinking of newspapers and broadcasters as competitors and think of ways to share information to the benfit of readers, viewers and listeners.

This vast conspiracy takes the form of a couple of daily phone calls saying, "Hey, did you hear what's going on at city hall?" and a quarterly meeting to decide on public service projects.

Hardly a threat to truth, to justice or to the American way.

Come to think of it, the folks who are against the Alliance (the T-L and WNEP) would love for this to be a one-paper and one-station town. Keller, you Nazi rat-bastard: Edward R. Murrow warned us about people like you!!!!!

(I'm sorry, a disclaimer: that last part was a joke. I have to spell that out because no one at the T-L has much of a sense of humor, and I don't want them in more of a lather than they already are)

Oops. Time to adjust your tinfoil beanie. You've been hanging out on the grassy knoll with the other conspiracy theorists too long.

Oops. You're out of your mind - you're drinking their punch. Maybe you're the one who keeps the punch bowl at your place. My guess? You work for Times-Shamrock. Do they conspire daily? Fercrissakes, of course not. But if there is some badass story involving Nexstar, you can bet your cloak and dagger that Times-Shamrock will at the very least bury it as far back as possible. And vice versa. The Times-Tribune blatantly went out of their way to polish Shimkus' reputation before the primary, it was arrogantly obvious. It took one Scranton man's complaints to the FCC to force Shimkus off the company payroll and removal from WYOU's website. Did you ever see that in either paper? An FCC complaint is not a trivial matter. Still, Nexstar&Times-Shamrock will now have their own man in the state house. Ain't that nifty. Sad to say, I don't think many newspaper people post here, which is really too bad, because they could tell stories, really good stories.

I guess we can all thank Rene LaSpina, the former WNEP General Manager, for saying no to the Lynetts. They wanted 16 to be the tv part of the News Alliance, but she wasn't interested. Rene saw no advantage to hooking up with smaller fish who could use 16's name to make themselves look better and more important.

Unfortunately, the owner of WNEP likes partnering with newspapers and the station has spent many years looking for a way to make the people in New York happy. Who knows? It could happen.

Bealsey, where did all these newspaper hacks come from and why are they posting here?

The feud between the CV and the T-L stopped pegging most people's give-a-shit meter sometime in the early eighties. Do we really need to let the plaid-sportcoat-and-ban-rol-polyester-slcks crowd fight it out, ad nauseum, here?

I never said he wasn't there, just off the payroll and site. And only because someone filed a formal complaint with the FCC to force Nexstar's hand in the matter. He's a "consultant" that is considered a private contractor, and not a Nexstar employee. It really is a nauseating situation, but it pretty much fits with that place and its poisoned atmosphere. Oh, he's there, there every day, which gags most everyone who works in that news room.

I wish more newspaper reporters would post here. And for anyone who thinks the public animus between/over CV and TL ended in the early 80s couldn't be more wrong. I'd say it has faded considerably the last 5-10 years.

You're watching too much TV. I'm not in the newspaper business but I know a lot of people who are. Don't know any with plaid sportscoats and polyester ban rol (what's ban rol? you seem to know) slacks. Newspaper hacks? What do you mean by that? People who can write a story that has coherence and unity? We know that's not a concern for you electronic journalists.

I know a bunch of people in TV too and fact is, the TV people for the most part are the cheese in this sandwich. Talk about vain and deluded! The biggest names in TV in this market are, guess what, still in this market. Try to save the insufferability for when you hit a market that's top 10 or better.

I'm surprised you didn't get the cultural reference. I didn't know there were any print people in the market under 60. But I at least thought you newspaper people knew about research.

Here's a hint: you can Google the term on any computer. Another hint? You're at a computer right now.

Need more help, just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you? (Another cultural reference from your era.)

Good news: the biggest names in print in this market are going to be in this market forever. Bad news: they died in the fifties and sixties and they're buried at their desks in several cityrooms/shrines.

The News Alliance's thing with the Red Cross was strictly a feel-good gesture, designed solely to get a little positive press for something that is otherwise a huge joke. It's the equivalent of the Voice running a house ad to congratulate itself for another whoop-ti-do scoop.

More importantly, I think 11:27 is just jealous that while he or she is pulling in a cool 23-5 on TV in NEPA, the "ink-stained wretches", who can run rings around his or her story-telling ability don't have to spend 4 grand a year on make-up.

Maybe you're right. I think the hard-hitting TV stuff is the place to go for my news.

"Still snowing out there Paola?"

"As you can see traffic...uh...right now is moving at a normal pace but...uh...we did have some snow and it is affecting the...uh...traffic in some places. Marisa?"

"Thanks Paola, be careful out there.Tom?"

"Thanks Marisa. I "think" there's a "chance" that we "might" "possibly" see "if" there's going to be some more snow headed our way and we'll tell you where. You're watching Newswatch 16, proud to serve Bunghole and all of Whogivesashit County."